Elkem, Norsk Hydro and Altor Partner on Battery Materials Business

By Dominic Chopping

Norwegian materials manufacturer Elkem ASA said Wednesday that aluminum and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro ASA and private-equity firm Altor Equity Partners have invested in its Vianode battery materials business.

Vianode has developed a range of synthetic graphite products for batteries that have unique performance characteristics and are produced with significantly lower CO2 emissions than standard materials, it said.

Following the transaction, Hydro and Altor will each have 30% ownership in Vianode, while Elkem will retain the remaining 40%.

Vianode is planning to build an industrial scale production site in Heroya, Norway, and Elkem said an investment decision for the first-phase of the plant is expected during the first half of 2022.

When completed, the first-phase of the plant will have around 100 employees and produce graphite for more than 20,000 electric vehicles a year, while the full-scale plant will produce graphite for more than 1 million electric vehicles a year and is expected to increase the number of employees in Vianode to around 300, it said.

Elkem said total investments in the first-phase of the plant and preparations for a potential full-scale plant are estimated at around 2 billion Norwegian kroner ($229.1 million).

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 06, 2022 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT)

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